


Company

by ama



Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 07:24:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,384
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1542470
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ama/pseuds/ama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Babe takes Gene to an animal shelter for his birthday.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Company

**Author's Note:**

> bit of nonsense modern au fluff for Shannon, who requested an "Offer Me" drabble. also, I ended up making the dog a beagle because jack russells aren't good for apartment living, but can we all agree that Babe in dog form would be a jack russell?

“Come on, Babe, just tell me where we’re going.”

“Nuh-uh, I’m not going to spoil the surprise.”

“You lost all claim to romance when you decided to let me pick out _my own_ birthday gift.”

Far from looking abashed, Babe Heffron only grinned and turned up the volume on his car radio as Gene huffed and stared out the window. Just as he was starting to speculate again as to their destination, the car slowed and Babe pulled over. He shot Babe an exasperated look—ten more seconds of secrecy were really necessary?—and then glanced up at the building they were parked in front of.

“Animal shelter?”

“Ding ding ding, give the man a prize. Or better yet, a puppy.”

Babe threw the car into park and hastened around to open Gene’s door for him. He bowed and Gene tried to contain the happy grin that threatened to overcome him; he was trying not to encourage his boyfriend’s more ridiculous attitudes, but sometimes Babe made it very difficult.

“Or a cat, actually. That’s why I wanted to let you pick; I didn’t think it was fair of me to decide, but _don’t_ try to deny that you want a fuzzy little friend. Now I found one cat and one dog who you will love, and who—more importantly—love me. Hiya, Annie.”

The girl behind the counter smiled at Babe in a way that was actually familiar, and Gene wondered how long Babe had been here, playing with various animals in the guise of picking the perfect gift. Longer than necessary, he imagined, and this time he was entirely unable to keep from smiling.

“Hey, Babe. And you must be the lucky Gene,” she said with a nod. Gene chuckled.

“That I am, miss.”

“Great! We have two pets for you to look at today; our visiting area is just over here. Now both of them are pretty good with other animals, so do you want to see them together or...?”

“Yes,” Babe said immediately, and together they sat down on the little bench Annie had indicated, which was closed in on three sides, away from the hallway and the reception area. “So, cat or a dog, d’you think?”

“Ooh, I’m getting a choice now,” Gene teased. Babe grinned and nudged him with his elbow.

“‘Course you are. Come on, Gene, at least admit that this is a great idea. You tell stories about your old dog _all the time_ \--”

“I do?” Gene said, surprised. Max had died when he was only ten, so he hadn’t realized he had enough stories to tell. Babe looked like he was trying very hard not to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, sweetheart, you do. I think I’ve heard each of Max’s Adventures with Alligators like twenty times. Now don’t get me wrong, they’re great stories, but I think it’s about damn time to expand your repertoire, you know what I’m saying? Besides, you’ve been so busy lately, and you’re always saying that you hate coming home to an empty apartment, so wouldn’t it be good to get some company?

Gene had been thinking of human company, truth be told, but he couldn’t find fault with the amount of thought that Babe had put into this, so he just smiled weakly and leaned forward to deliver a light peck on the lips, before looking back out into the reception area.

“Mm-hm, that’s true.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Babe got it.

“Sweet fucking Jesus,” he groaned, bringing a hand to his forehead. “I’m a goddamn idiot, aren’t I?”

“I like cats and dogs,” Gene said placidly. “And I like you, too.”

Before they could say anything else, Annie arrived, with a grey striped cat in her arms and a red leash wrapped around her hand. At her feet bobbed a very energetic beagle, who was missing a leg but made up for it with sheer enthusiasm. Her short tail wagged immediately at the sight of Babe, who slipped down on his knees to greet her.

“This is Maggie,” Annie said, gesturing with a foot at the dog. “She’s a rescue; poor girl got hit by a car and left on the side of the road and was brought in a few months ago. We’re not sure what her background is, but we think she’s about three years old, pure beagle as far as we can tell. And this is Strix.”

“Haven’t heard that one before,” Gene commented, and Annie grinned.

“My girlfriend picked it out; she thinks the stripes make him look like a Great Grey owl. Strix nebulosa is the scientific term, apparently, and Strix sounds better than Nebulosa. Anyway, he was taken from a neglectful home after his previous family let an eye infection go untreated and he lost his eyesight completely. He’s four years old, and a bit more nervous than Maggie, but he _loves_ affection.”

“I’ll bet,” Gene muttered as he stood and reached out to take the cat.

Annie stepped closer and slowly transferred Strix into his arms; the cat seemed a bit alarmed and grumpy about being handed over to a stranger, but Gene didn’t take offense. He held the cat securely, like a baby, and within seconds Strix was attempting to climb onto his shoulder and sniffing at his ear. His whiskers poked at Gene’s cheek. Satisfied, Strix curled up (which required some adjustment on Gene’s part), and at the slightest pat on his head began purring.

“Oh he’s a darling.”

“Ain’t he?” Babe said, looking up from his place on the floor with Maggie; she kept insistently trying to lick his cheek. “I swear to God I almost fell asleep with him last time. Here, you want to trade?”

“Not really,” Gene chuckled, quite content with the soft feel of Strix’s plush grey fur against his cheek, but the choice was taken away from him as Maggie decided that whatever could distract Babe so much was surely worthy of her attention, too. She trotted over to Gene’s feet and began sniffing vigorously at the hems of his pants. “Oh all right, then. Babe, come here.”

He sat down on the bench again and Babe followed, and they very carefully transferred Strix into his arms. Babe have no such care, but almost immediately dumped Strix onto his back and buried his hands in the soft fur of his chest. Strix resisted weakly, wiggled, and then began to purr. Gene turned his attention to Maggie, who was so eager for his attention that she hopped up on her back leg and put her paws on his knee. She wobbled slightly, and Gene picked her up as well and set her down on the bench next to him. She continued to investigate him for a few moments, trailing her nose over his knees and his stomach and nearly falling into his lap trying to reach his other leg, before she expressed her approval by draping her front legs over his lap and closing her eyes. Obediently, Gene scratched her head and a smile crept onto his face.

With a heavy sigh, he looked over at Babe, who met his eyes questioningly.

“How in the hell do you expect me to make a choice, Edward?”

“Ooh, _Edward_ ,” Babe laughed. “You must be really mad, huh? Look, I’m sorry, I just thought it wouldn’t be fair… pros and cons list?”

“Sure.”

“Dogs are more fun to exercise with and less moody… but cats live a bit longer and purr.”

It wasn’t exactly a comprehensive list, and they debated for a few more minutes lazily before Gene realized the obvious solution. He carefully extricated himself out from under Maggie (she whined grumpily) and leaned out into the hallway.

“Annie?” he called. “I think we’re ready.”

“Awesome! Hold on, let me just grab the paperwork. Who are you taking home today?”

Gene looked back at the bench, where Maggie had adjusted herself so her head was lying on Babe’s leg. Babe was trying to scratch her ears and pet Strix at the same time, which was proving difficult, because Strix had decided he really enjoyed sitting in the crook of Babe’s elbow. There was an enormous sunny smile on Babe’s face, and Gene felt his own expression soften.

“All three of them, I think.”


End file.
